Pasta frittata and spinach salad

One more not-great iPhone picture. I’m not knocking Apple products. One of my students has a new iPad and it takes fantastic pictures and videos of his day and work for him to watch and to share with his family.

This idea is not mine. It comes from the wonderful Biggie at http://lunchinabox.net/2007/05/14/leftover-remake-pasta-frittata-multi-grilling/ (pretty link tool not working today). I adapted it a little: 1 cup of pasta in marinara sauce, 1 egg, and 1 egg white with some black pepper. I considered cheese, but only had feta in the fridge, and didn’t really want to use it. I have used cheese in the past for weekend lunches with tremendous success. This also works quite nicely for leftover mac and cheese from a box, where the sauce hardens up and isn’t quite so melty as when it’s freshly made.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Wansink, notable food scientist from a consumer point of view, talks about how most households have a nutritional gatekeeper, the one who decides the majority of food purchases. I am usually that gatekeeper, but my husband did the major grocery shop this time around. I asked for a bag of spinach, and I got given one of those huuuuuuuuge family-sized boxes of it. I’ve been incorporating it into breakfast smoothies (also because proxy nutritional gatekeeper couldn’t find oatmeal…). I swear you can’t taste it up beyond one big handful. Make sure it’s closest to the blender blade so it gets the first blast of smooshiness, and you won’t be able to discern the leafy texture in your beverage. I’ve been eating spinach every day since Friday, and I’m getting so sick of it! It’ll be sautéed tomorrow, and any leftovers frozen. I just can’t do any more spinach right now. However, here it is in a salad with grape tomatoes, craisins, and incredibly syrupy thick balsamic vinegar. This stuff is so good nothing else is needed to dress a salad – kind of makes up for eating spinach again!

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5 thoughts on “Pasta frittata and spinach salad”

I like to sautee my spinach, drain it slightly, then mix it with a libeal amount of garlic salt. Freshly diced garlic would be really nice as well, even sauteed with the spinach! Think I might have to put that on my list of bento dishes for this next few weeks

Yummy! I plan on sautéing it, and mixing in enough for the hubs and me with some garlic-chili paste, which I love on bok choi/cabbage for bentos. Slap some rice or noodles and a tamagoyaki in there, and I’m set!

I use it up in smoothies too, but yes, those huge containters seem to go on forever! Even after a couple days of regular salads, you fluff it up and it looks like it did the first day! Never ending spinach; good value, but madding at the same time!